This is the first comprehensive study of the Theages, a dialogue whose Platonic authorship was not questioned in antiquity but has been doubted by most modern scholars. The book's introductory chapters confront such problems as the dialogue's purpose and meaning, its authenticity and date of composition, its depiction of Socrates' divine sign, and its relation to other Platonic and Socratic literature. The commentary deals in detail with a wide range of philosophical, philological and literary questions. A new text is also offered here, the first to be founded upon a complete knowledge of the manuscript tradition. "Joyal's commentary is the first work that has done justice to the Theages as a genuine document of Ancient Greek rather than as a work to insult and denigrate because it does not reach the heights of the best Platonic dialogues. Philologists and philosophers can gain immeasurably from Joyal's work." Gnomon "There can be no doubt that this edition will stand for many decades as the standard work" The Heythrop Journal "For anyone who does serious work on the language or text of Plato, and anyone who wants to explore an early monument of Socrates' transition from hero to saint, this ambitious study will yield years of profit.� Classical World "�this is certainly an important book and will be of enormous interest to students of Plato" Scripta Classica Israelica "�the edition is a pleasure to use, and an important tool of scholarship. It made me think. What more could one want?" Phoenix .

Reproduction of the original.

The Republic is a Socratic dialogue, written by Plato around 380 BCE, concerning the definition of justice, the order and character of the just city-state and the just man. The dramatic date of the dialogue has been much debated and though it must take place some time during the Peloponnesian War, "there would be jarring anachronisms if any of the candidate specific dates between 432 and 404 were assigned". It is Plato's best-known work and has proven to be one of the most intellectually and historically influential works of philosophy and political theory. In it, Socrates along with various Athenians and foreigners discuss the meaning of justice and examine whether or not the just man is happier than the unjust man by considering a series of different cities coming into existence "in speech", culminating in a city (Kallipolis) ruled by philosopher-kings; and by examining the nature of existing regimes. The participants also discuss the theory of forms, the immortality of the soul, and the roles of the philosopher and of poetry in society.

A literal translation, allowing the simplicity and vigor of the Greek diction to shine through.